Penny's New Roommate
by CakeBomb
Summary: When Penny gets a new, smart, edgy, pretty roommate, Sheldon warms up considerably towards her. Maybe it will become more than a friendship?
1. Chapter 1

Leonard came into the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

"Penny's got a new roommate." He declared.

"Really?" Howard asked, in the middle of finding a fork in the take-out bag. "How do you know?"

"Well…" Leonard sat down in his armchair floor and reached for some Thai take-out. "I met her on the way up here, asked her how she was doing and she said she got a new roommate."

"Oh dear Lord…" Sheldon moaned suddenly.

"What's the problem now? You've got twenty two pieces of chicken in your Orange Chicken instead of twenty three?" Howard suggested sarcastically.

"You just realized that the soy sauce is regular and not low-sodium?" Raj joined in.

"Neither," Sheldon drawled. "I just can't bear the idea of Penny having a roommate."

"Really, why is that?" Leonard inquired, looking up from his food.

"Well, there are two reasons. I will start with the most probable of them both. Let's assume that Penny's roommate is exactly like her-" Sheldon started, but was cut off by Howard.

"What's the problem with that? Penny is crazy hot."

Sheldon shot him a look.

"That is one of the reasons no one will ever love you, Howard." He said grimly. "Anyway, beginning with the assumption that said roommate is exactly like Penny, who lacks nothing in the field of attractiveness to most men, but is, to be blunt, severely lacking in intelligence." Sheldon finishes.

"Sheldon, that's mean." Leonard interjected, a little angrily.

"But it's true, Leonard!" Sheldon said. "Let's say we get acquainted with Penny's new roommate and we have him or her over for dinner, I then need to put up with double the amount of Penny. Do you see my point?"

"Fine- what's your other reason?" Leonard said wearily.

"My other reason is that her roommate could be a perfectly intelligent person, but Penny _dumbs_ them down, so to speak, and makes shoes a focal point of their life." Sheldon shrugs.

"Don't you think you're being kind of harsh, Sheldon?" Howard said. "I mean, she could be neither of those two things."

"I highly doubt that, Howard, as Penny finds _Leonard's_ intelligence scary. I doubt she'd have someone intelligent _live_ with her." Sheldon said tactlessly, starting to eat again.

There was a knock at the door and Howard scrambled to get it, ruffling a hand through his hair and adjusting his shirt.

It was Penny.

"Oh, hi Howard!" She said "Can I come in? I brought my new roommate for you all to meet."

"Yeah, sure, come in." Howard said, breathlessly. Penny came in and sat down in an armchair, followed by her roommate.

"Hey, I'm Ivy." She said, smiling. "I'm very pleased to meet you."

Howard was taken aback.

Ivy was about his height, a little shorter, with jet black hair, pale skin, and big green eyes, outlined with black eyeliner. She also had large black glasses, a septum and a lip piercing. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a band t-shirt and a distressed denim jacket with lots of band badges and patches on it.

She was incredibly pretty.

Howard just stood with his mouth open, like a fish.

"Should I be cautious of Howard?" Ivy said, laughing and walking past him.

"Before I can accept you as one of my friends," Sheldon said, standing up and walking towards Ivy. "What is a neutrino?"

Ivy looked at him for a brief moment and said:

"A neutrino is an electrically neutral, elementary subatomic particle." She stated.

"Welcome to my home." Sheldon said, extending a hand for Ivy to shake and smiling at her.


	2. Chapter 2

Ivy sat down between Sheldon and Raj (who acted as if he'd been slapped in the face), as Howard had now moved onto the floor.

"Penny's told me a lot about you guys." She said. "I've really been looking forward to meeting you all.

Penny came back into the living room and passed Ivy a glass of orange soda.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you." Leonard smiled.

"Aww, thanks. I just moved from New Jersey and it's a little bit of a culture shock. I'm so glad I've got some friends now. I have to say that moving from England to New Jersey was even worse!" Ivy laughed.

"You're from England?" Sheldon interjected. "How fascinating- I love England. I have to admit, I only just picked up on the accent. You sound quite the Jersey-ite."

"You really think so? A lot of people say that I have an accent. I love England but my parents moved to New Jersey since my dad's American and he wanted to come back. Hopefully I'll get a little luckier with finding a band over here, though." Ivy shrugged, taking a sip of her soda.

"A band? You're into music? I happen to be a human beat box." Howard said, raising his eyebrows at Ivy.

"I _love_ music. I play guitar, bass, drums, cello, piano, violin, flute, and ukulele." Ivy said modestly, like it was nothing, and setting down her drink.

"Yeah, I don't know how we managed to get all her instruments into my apartment." Penny laughed. "She brought _five_ guitars."

"Five?" Leonard inquired, a little taken aback. "What kind of guitars are they?"

"I have a Fender Stratocaster, a Gibson ES-135, a Gibson Flying V Bass, A Fender Telecaster, and a Guild D55. But that's only half of what I've got back at my parents' place." Ivy shrugged.

Leonard was impressed, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind.

"How come you knew what a neutrino was?" He asked, shifting in his seat.

"Oh, common knowledge, I guess, but I took a huge interest in Physics when I was younger. I remember it all." Ivy said.

Sheldon looked up.

"You're delightful." He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Sheldon." Ivy grinned.

"I think you're delightful as well." Howard added, giving Ivy a big smile.

Ivy laughed.

"You're sweet." She said.

"Well, Ivy, I'd be happy for you to come to our apartment any time for a warm beverage." Sheldon said. "I have a question, though. What are you going to do for work?"

Ivy bit her lip and furrowed her brow.

"I don't know." She admitted. "I mean, I could always get a job at the record store or at the guitar store, but other than that I have no means of work."

"Well, I'd be happy to let you work with me." Sheldon offered.

The whole room went quiet. Had Sheldon hit his head?

"Wait, don't you mean _for_ you?" Ivy said- a little shocked.

"No, I mean _with_ me-starting Monday. Then after work I'll help you find a job." Sheldon added.

"Oh wow, that's really kind of you. I accept your offer." Ivy said, happily. Leonard noticed that she had a little tattoo on her wrist.

"What's the tattoo?" he asked, worried that it might have sounded a little sudden.

"Oh, this one? It's just a logo from one my favorite bands. I have quite a few small tattoos, mostly from favorite bands."

Leonard decided that he liked Ivy a lot, and that anyone who could make Sheldon happy (and more importantly, shut up) was worth keeping as a friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Penny sat at her breakfast table looking through her bills when Ivy came into the room, wearing a band hoodie and turquoise pajama bottoms with little yellow stars on them.

"Good morning, Ivy." Penny said. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'd love some coffee, if you wouldn't mind." Ivy replied, stretching her arms.

"Yeah, sure." Penny started making coffee.

Ivy sat down where Penny was sitting.

"You spent two hundred dollars at Urban Outfitters? What the hell did you buy?" Ivy asked- a little shocked.

"You know, just a coat… and a pair of shoes." Penny said sheepishly.

"Just those two things? Jeez, Penny, this coat was one-hundred and thirty dollars. I don't even spend that much on clothes in a month, and in my opinion, I buy a lot of clothes." Ivy added with a small laugh.

"Well, you know, I like to treat myself… to things I can't afford…" Penny murmured under her breath, setting Ivy's coffee down on the table.

Ivy swept her bangs out of her face distractedly and looked at Penny.

"I'm worried, Penny." She declared, tracing little circles with her finger on the table.

"What are you worried about?" Penny asked, leaning against her refrigerator with a mug in her hand.

"I'm worried that no one's going to like me… I don't know- I always worry about stuff like that. I guess I'm just being stupid…" Ivy dismissed her comment with a shake of her head.

"No, you can tell me, sweetie." Penny said, smiling reassuringly.

"Well, what if the guys think I'm a total weirdo for liking video games and comic books and rock music? I'm pretty sure you said Sheldon hates people who play music, Penny." Ivy added, raising her eyebrows.

"Okay, those guys are going to absolutely love you for liking comic books and video games. I mean, what's not to love about a badass girl they can have sex with? As for the rock music, don't worry about it. Sheldon's never going to be happy with anything, and anyway, it's none of his business what you do." Penny said, offering Ivy a piece of toast, which she accepted and buttered.

"I guess you're right. But I want to be friends with these guys and you said Sheldon's really-" Ivy was interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get it."

Ivy opened the door and met Howard wearing black skinny jeans, a red and black check shirt, a Batman belt buckle, Vans, and a turtleneck.

"Hey," Ivy said, leaning against the doorframe. "How're you?"

"I'm fine. Listen, um, I was wondering if you'd be interested in accompanying me to the comic book store this morning. Just a thought, you know, maybe we could go as friends..." Howard trailed off. "Leonard's coming, by the way."

Penny came over and had to bite back a laugh at the expression on Ivy's face. It was sort of a cross between disbelief, confusion, and about one thousand other yet-to-be-identified emotions.

"Well…" Ivy managed at last. "I like comic books, so I guess if you give me a few minutes to get ready I'll be over and we can go?"

"Great! I'll tell Leonard you're coming and we'll be waiting in the apartment." Howard said, a look of great happiness lighting up his eyes.

"See you then." Ivy said, and shut the door.

Penny raised her eyebrows and grinned at Ivy.

"Oh, come on! What was I supposed to say?" Ivy exclaimed.

"You better go get ready for your _date with Howard._" Penny teased, as Ivy walked past her.

"Oh shut up, I have absolutely no attraction to Howard whatsoever." Ivy called from her bedroom.

"I don't blame you! He's creepy." Penny yelled back and shuddered to herself, remembering the countless times Howard had flirted with her.

When Ivy came out she was wearing black skinny jeans, sneakers, a fitted band shirt, a fitted Kingdom Hearts hoodie, and her hair was immaculately styled. On her arm was a handbag that looked like a rubber hen.

"You look nice, and that's a cute handbag!" Penny said, looking desolately through her bills again.

"Nah, I'm only going to buy some comics, it's nothing special. The handbag is pretty cute though. See you later, Penny." Ivy said and left.

"God help that poor girl." Penny mumbled to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Thank you for letting me come, it's really nice of you." Ivy said as they entered the comic book store.

"It's nothing, I'm glad you wanted to come." Leonard said, smiling at Ivy. "That's a cute handbag."

"Thanks, a few people have noticed it now. Even Sheldon said he liked it." Ivy laughed, pretending not to notice the fifteen or so men staring at her as she followed Leonard through the store.

"Speaking of Sheldon… He wanted me to ask you something." Leonard said to Ivy as she rifled through copies The Green Lantern.

"Oh really, what's that?" Ivy replied distractedly.

"He wants to know if you'd be interested in having dinner with him tonight at a restaurant." Leonard blurted out, shuffling his feet.

"Are you kidding? Sheldon actually said that?" Ivy said incredulously, but smiling all the same.

"Yeah, he did say that. He was very specific. He also wants to know if you prefer Italian or Japanese food." Leonard sighed, looking at Ivy through her hair. She was so pretty…

"Well, Japanese food, but you can't still be serious, Leonard." Ivy said, looking at Leonard with her big green eyes.

"I'm deadly serious. I wouldn't lie to you." Leonard said, putting his hands in his pockets. It pained him to say it, but Sheldon and Ivy might make a good match.

After Leonard wished him good luck, Sheldon stepped out of his apartment.

Leonard and Howard had picked his clothes for him, and they had picked a very flattering, completely black suit with black shoes. Sheldon felt confident that the night would go well, even if it was an extremely impulsive decision to ask Ivy out. However, he knocked on Penny's apartment door:

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

"Penny!"

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

"Penny!"

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

"Penny!"

Penny answered, looking stunned at his appearance.

"Wow Sheldon, you look… You look really great! I'll go get Ivy for you. Just a second… You can come in if you like."

"Thank you, Penny." Sheldon said politely and walked inside the apartment.

Sheldon smiled to himself. He had been reluctant at first with the black suit, but it was turning out to be a success.

When Ivy entered the room, Sheldon was taken aback at how wonderful she looked. She wasn't wearing skinny jeans or a rock band t-shirt, she was wearing a very dark grey dress with a black rose print, a lacy black cardigan, black tights and black boots. Sheldon was pleased to see that she had her little rubber chicken handbag. He thought it was fun.

"You look lovely." Sheldon said, smiling at her, and he meant it.

"Thank you." Ivy said. "So do you."

"Well, goodbye Morticia and Gomez." Penny joked. Ivy laughed and they both bade her goodbye.

Once they were out in the hall, Sheldon offered Ivy his arm without even thinking about the physical contact, which she took.

"Thank you for taking me out, Sheldon, it's very sweet of you." Ivy said, as they began to descend the stairs.

"My pleasure, in fact, maybe we should make this a regular activity. Every Sunday, we have Japanese food together." Sheldon offered.

"You've never eaten at the restaurant before; won't that be a little odd for you?" Ivy asked, looking at Sheldon.

"If I enjoy my meal tonight, then it won't be a problem at all. Of course, that is if you're satisfied with the meal as well only then will we make it our Sunday evening activity." Sheldon said.

"Well, I think it's a great idea." Ivy smiled.

"Ivy, what's that small metal ring in your nose?" Sheldon asked suddenly.

"That's a septum piercing, Sheldon." Ivy replied, as they began to walk down the street.

"I see. Did it hurt?" Sheldon enquired.

"A little bit, but not all that much. Why?" Ivy asked, wishing she'd put a coat on.

"I was just curious. I take it that was another piercing you had in your lip yesterday. How much did that one hurt?" Sheldon pursued further.

"It hurt a lot- hey, Sheldon, why did you want to take me out?" Ivy asked, looking right at him.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm very interested in you and I would like to develop our relationship." Sheldon said, surprised at her outburst.

"So you mean this is a date and you'd be interested in me as a girlfriend?"

Sheldon thought about it.

"Very much so."

"Sheldon, honey, why didn't you just say that?" Ivy laughed.

"Well, I suppose I was afraid of rejection. So, how _do_ you feel about being my girlfriend? I don't mean a girl who is my friend, I mean my _girlfriend_." Sheldon said, stopping to look Ivy in the eye.

"Sheldon, if you're completely serious about this, then yes, I will be your girlfriend… But Penny said that you didn't like touching, or having serious relationships or anything like that... It just feels a bit strange." Ivy sighed, confused.

"Well maybe I can make an exception for you, Ivy. Now, let's get inside, I'm hungry." Sheldon said with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Leonard stumbled through to the living room and found Ivy curled up on the couch, fast asleep.

He trod carefully to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of orange juice. It was nearly ten in the morning and Sheldon would probably be getting up soon. Leonard could ask him how Ivy ended up on the couch.

Sheldon came wandering into the kitchen about ten minutes later and was about to say something when Leonard shushed him and pointed to Ivy. Sheldon nodded understandingly.

"Did you have a good night?" Leonard whispered as Sheldon tried to pour himself some Froot Loops as quietly as possible.

"Very good. Ivy and I have made it our regular Sunday activity now that we're in a relationship. The food was excellent and-"

Leonard nearly choked on his orange juice and Sheldon waited patiently for him to recover.

"I'm sorry but did you say that you and Ivy are in a _relationship_?" Leonard finally gasped, taking another swig of orange juice. He glanced at Ivy, who he thankfully had not woken up.

"What's so astonishing about that?" Sheldon asked, his spoon halfway to his mouth.

Then Leonard asked himself, what _was_ so astonishing about that? He should feel _happy_ for Sheldon.

"Nothing at all. I'm happy for you." Leonard smiled. "But how did she end up on the couch?"

"I invited her in and we played each other at Halo. She got tired and she fell asleep on me. I was going to wake her up but she probably would've been angry, so I let her sleep on the couch." Sheldon explained.

Leonard wondered why Ivy didn't find Sheldon annoying, or narcissistic, or arrogant, or any of those other things that Sheldon was. He wondered why she didn't go for someone like…

Someone like him.

On the couch, Ivy stirred and stretched her arms. She swung her legs off the couch and stretched a little more. She jumped out of her skin when she saw Leonard smiling at her.

"Good morning." he laughed, as Ivy stood up.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" Ivy asked, rubbing her eyes and smearing her eyeliner a little bit.

"Yeah, and you? How was the couch?" Leonard joked.

"It was very comfortable! How're you today, Sheldon?" Ivy asked, hugging him.

"I'm just wonderful." Sheldon replied, putting his arm round Ivy. "Leonard? Be a lamb and make Ivy some breakfast." Sheldon drawled.

"No, it's okay Leonard, I'm not even hungry." Ivy assured Leonard before he could do anything.

"Are you sure? We've got stuff for pancakes if you want some." Leonard offered.

"No it's fine. I'd better be getting ready for work. Well, it was nice seeing you, Leonard." Ivy smiled, gave Sheldon a final hug and left.

"Wow, Sheldon, you've really hit it off with her," Leonard said. "Are you really serious about this whole relationship thing?"

"Of course I'm serious. I'm serious about everything and if I'm not I will imply that I am joking with the use of the word "Bazinga". I don't think I could find a girl who I like more than I like Ivy. Last night she taught me all about the different parts of a guitar and she explained all the different genres of rock music to me. It was fascinating." Sheldon said dreamily.

"You've never been interested in music, Sheldon." Leonard said, putting some bread in the toaster.

"I am now after I realized just how dynamic it can be." Sheldon said. "You seem fixated on the fact that I've got a girlfriend and you haven't. I think you're jealous."

Leonard looked at him. At the end of the day, Sheldon was right, he was extremely jealous of him.

"I guess you're right." Leonard admitted, looking down at his feet.

"Knew it." Sheldon said and went to his bedroom.

_Douchebag…_Leonard thought to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

At lunch, Howard joined up with Leonard and Raj in the cafeteria.

"Where's Sheldon?" Leonard asked Howard as he sat down.

Howard shrugged.

"Last time I saw him he was with Ivy." Howard said darkly. "Why?"

"I was just wondering... Hey, guys…? What would you say if I told you that Sheldon and Ivy were dating?"

"I would say that you need to lie down." Howard joked.

"Well prepare my bed because they're dating." Leonard said grimly, pushing his macaroni cheese around his plate.

"_Shut your ass!_" Raj exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Howard looked a little like a puppy whose chew toy you'd hidden and he was figuring out where it was.

"And just when I thought that I'd have sex this month…" Howard moaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Come on Howard, she makes Sheldon happy, at least that's some relief." Leonard said.

"Leonard has a point, you know. But get real Howard; it's not as if you had a shot with Ivy." Raj said, taking a bite of his lunch.

"And _you_ did? Please- tell me why." Howard said, leaning forward.

"Well, first of all Ivy is dark and moody-" Raj started but was cut off by Howard.

"I can be dark and moody!" Howard said, flipped his fringe over his eyes and pouted exaggeratedly.

"No, you can't. Never do that again. Secondly, I am an astrophysicist, while you are a simple engineer. Thirdly- what's not to love about me? I'm adorable!" Raj grinned. "Oh, and you wear turtlenecks. No one likes turtlenecks."

"It's a dickey." Howard said threateningly.

"Whatever, dude, but that makes it sound even worse." Raj shrugged, but immediately stopped talking because Ivy and Sheldon appeared. Sheldon sat down at the head of the table and Ivy took a seat next to Howard, who raised his eyebrows at Raj who in turn glared at him.

"Good morning Howard, Raj." Sheldon said, nodding at them both.

Howard chose to ignore him and turned to Ivy.

"So, Ivy, how do you like the university?"

"It's amazing! Sheldon showed me everywhere- even the engineering department is pretty impressive!" Ivy laughed obliviously.

Leonard tried not to laugh out loud at the look on Howard's face.

Leonard dragged himself into the apartment. He had been held up in traffic and everyone was already eating by the time he got in.

"Hey Leonard." Ivy said, passing him his box of takeout. Ivy had given Sheldon a lift home instead.

"Hey, did you have any luck looking for a job?" Leonard asked, collapsing in his armchair.

"Yeah it was great! I've got a weekend job at the record store and I'll be working at the guitar store for a few days a week starting tomorrow. That should be enough until I find some band members, plus the money that Sheldon gave me for working for him today. I'll pay you back as soon as I can, okay, Shelley?" Ivy added, breaking her chopsticks apart. Leonard noticed that her nails were painted a pearly black color.

"You don't have to, and you couldn't pay me back sooner than you can, but that's beside the point. I'm lending you some money that I don't need and you're my girlfriend so you don't have to pay me back. Oh, and I like it when you call me Shelley." Sheldon added with a warm smile.

Raj whispered in Howard's ear.

"No, I'm not going to ask her if she's got a nickname for you." Howard sighed.

"So Ivy, what kind of music are you into?" Leonard asked.

"Brace yourselves." Sheldon said jokingly. Ivy punched him softly in the leg.

"I like hardcore, heavy metal, thrash metal, punk rock, punk-lite, mathcore, shoegaze, alternative-rock, doom metal, industrial metal, horror-punk, melodic-hardcore, ska, symphonic metal, death rock, acid rock, grunge, and I like a little cabaret rock, so not really very varied. I probably like more, but I can't really think of any more right now." Ivy shrugged, taking a sip of Powerade.

Leonard stared at her.

"You understand that I have no idea what most of those things you just said were, right?" He laughed.

"I do." Sheldon piped up. "Ivy told me all about them. Did you know that the name for an industrial metal fan is a "_Rivethead_"?"

Sheldon and Ivy high-fived and went back to their food.

Reluctantly, Leonard saw that Ivy and Sheldon were so good for each other; it was pointless feeling sad about it. He was bigger than that.

Of course, it would be a lot easier if she weren't so pretty.


	7. Chapter 7

Sheldon woke up in the middle of the night to a knock on his bedroom door.

"Who is it?" He sleepily called out.

"It's me." Ivy whispered from outside.

"Come in." Sheldon said, sitting up, turning his lamp on and rubbing his eyes.

Ivy came inside and shut the door behind her.

"What's the matter?" He asked her as she sat down on the bed.

"I can't sleep." She said, chewing absent-mindedly at her lip. "Can I sleep with you?"

Sheldon looked at her. She looked very different when she wasn't wearing her big black glasses.

"Of course you can." Sheldon smiled.

"Thank you." Ivy said sleepily, getting in next to Sheldon and taking one of his pillows. She turned off the light and wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you." She said quietly.

There was a momentary pause.

"I love you, too." Sheldon replied and smiled to himself.

In the morning, Sheldon got up and made Ivy a warm beverage. On the way back to his bedroom he met Leonard.

"Good morning." Sheldon said politely, not looking at him.

"Is that _Ivy_ in there?" Leonard asked, looking past Sheldon.

"Yes." Sheldon said, turning away from Leonard.

"_Did you two have sex last night?_"

"Even if we did, why would it concern you?" Sheldon retorted and slammed the door in Leonard's face.

_Stupid Leonard, getting involved in my relationship with Ivy…_ Sheldon thought.

Ivy stirred, opened her eyes and sat up. Sheldon passed her the warm beverage he made.

"Thank you. Why did the door slam? You woke me up." Ivy said.

"I apologize, but Leonard was interfering again." Sheldon said, looking through the basket of clean t-shirts and picking out a black Batman one and a white long-sleeved shirt to go under it.

"What do you mean, _again_?" Ivy asked.

"Leonard has become incredibly interested in our relationship and quite frankly it's becoming tiresome." Sheldon said, slipping on his shirts. "This morning he wanted to know if we'd had sex or not, I mean, who asks that kind of thing?"

"He actually asked that? Why would he care?" Ivy wondered aloud.

"That's what I said. Based on his actions, I think that Leonard is jealous of me." Sheldon said. "When the time comes that we _do_ have sex, why should it be his business?"

"_We're_ going to have _sex_?" Ivy choked on her drink.

Sheldon turned around.

"Certainly. I mean, we're together now and I'm taken to understand that that is what couples do -unless of course you don't want to have sex." Sheldon said, slightly confused.

"Of course I do, it's just… Well, I'm just a little surprised because Penny just said that you weren't into all that stuff." Ivy said, getting out of bed.

"I've already told you that you are an exception and I meant it." Sheldon said, looking through the laundry basket.

"You're so sweet. I'd better be going, I mean, don't want to be late for work on my first day. What did he say I had to wear?" Ivy asked, giving Sheldon a hug

"Black jeans, black shirt, black shoes. You're allowed to wear a hoodie if it's black." Sheldon said.

Ivy left and Sheldon finished getting dressed. He would talk to Leonard about interfering later, but for now if he asked any more questions, he would have to ignore him.


	8. Chapter 8

After work, Penny drove to the guitar store to pick Ivy up from work. Penny, Ivy, Sheldon, and Leonard all had a deal about driving to work. Penny was yet to be taken to work in Ivy's car but she had seen it from the outside and thought it looked pretty awesome, with masses of band stickers on the back.

Ivy was waiting outside the guitar store, looking cold and bored, but she smiled warmly when Penny arrived and got in.

"Good day at work?" Ivy asked, buckling her seatbelt.

"It was okay, I mean, you can't really have that much fun when you're a waitress. How was _your_ day?" Penny asked as the car started to move again.

"It was fine, had to deal with a really obnoxious beginner guy who thought he knew more about guitars than I did. I got the ingredients for dinner tonight in my lunch break and Sheldon called and I was on the phone for a while. I just want to get home, if I'm honest." Ivy said, offering Penny a piece of chewing gum which she accepted.

"How are things with you and Sheldon?" She asked, swerving to avoid something in the road.

"Really good, but Sheldon's getting a little annoyed with Leonard." Ivy said distractedly, rooting through rubber chicken handbag.

"What's Leonard done?" She enquired.

"Well, according to Sheldon he's always talking about our relationship, Sheldon thinks he's jealous…" Ivy said, retrieving her mobile phone and checking it. "Oh God…"

"What's up?" Penny asked.

"Howard's messaged me… He asked me if I want to go over and meet his mother…" Ivy sighed.

Sheldon sat down in his spot and turned on the television. He missed Ivy being here, with her hilarious wit, interesting stories, and her intelligence. From the very short period of time that Ivy had worked with him, she had turned out to be nothing less than a genius.

Sheldon liked her tattoos, especially the little Green Lantern symbol on her ankle. Howard liked the Pokeball with the words "_Gotta Catch 'Em All!_" on her lower back, and Leonard thought the little blue ray gun from one of her favourite bands on her right wrist was very cute. He didn't know which one Raj liked.

Sheldon couldn't stop thinking about her and he was jogged out of thoughts by Leonard saying his name.

"Hey, Sheldon? Sheldon! You alright?" Leonard asked.

"I'm fine..." He said, leaning his head on his hand.

"Are you sure? You seem a little… distracted." Leonard observed, sitting down. "Where's Ivy tonight?"

"She's at home. She's not coming over tonight. I wish she was…" Sheldon said miserably.

Leonard couldn't help smiling to himself.

"Aww, Sheldon, that's sweet. You never know, she might come over later." Leonard said, trying to cheer him up.

"I hope so. Leonard…?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going out." Sheldon declared, got up, and left.

He knocked on Penny's apartment door and Ivy answered.

"Hey Sheldon, what's up?" Ivy asked, chewing at her lip.

"I miss you…" Sheldon admitted, looking at his feet.

"_Aww!_" Penny breathed somewhere from the living room.

Ivy's face broke into a smile.

"Well, I'm making dinner so you can come in and have some if you like." Ivy offered.

"Yes please." Sheldon said, and walked right past her.

Inside, it was like a totally different room. It had been cleaned and tidied immaculately and Sheldon was taken aback.

"Sit down." Penny said, gesturing to her breakfast table. She was painting her toenails on the couch.

"What are you making?" Sheldon asked Ivy as she poured him a diet coke.

"Just some miso soup with tofu, pak choi, ramen noodles, shiitake mushrooms, spring onions, and kombu seaweed with bonito flakes, you know, basic stuff." Ivy shrugged, setting out three bowls and ladling some delicious-smelling soup into them.

"Penny, dinner's ready." Sheldon called over his shoulder.


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay, so when she comes running in, which she will, we'll all clap and I'll get her a drink, okay?" Penny said.

It was eleven o'clock in the morning and Penny, Raj, Howard, and Leonard were all sitting (or in Leonard's case, standing) around waiting for Ivy to come bursting in. Sure enough, they heard fast footsteps on the floor outside and a knock at the door, but Ivy let herself in anyway.

Howard, Raj, Leonard, and Penny all burst into applause when she stepped inside. She hung her head. She was wearing her green shorts and a band shirt, and Penny could see her little Green Lantern tattoo on her foot.

Ivy collapsed next to Howard on the sofa and put her head in her hands. Howard rubbed her back mock-sympathetically.

Penny handed Ivy a Vitamin Water and grinned expectantly at her. "Well?" She prompted.

"Well what?" Ivy replied, looking at her darkly from under her bangs.

"Aren't you going to tell us all about it?" Howard asked, giving Ivy a smile that unnerved Penny every time she saw it.

For a very brief moment, various expressions flitted across Ivy's face. Disgust, shock and- was that fear? Anyone would be scared of Howard though, Penny thought to herself.

"Why do you all want to know so badly? It's none of your business!" Ivy said loudly.

There was an awkward silence before she resumed.

"What is it that's so weird about Sheldon having sex or even just a girlfriend? Sheldon is a human too! He has feelings! If I went up to Leonard and said: _hey Leonard how was your sex last night? You enjoy it? Tell me all about it!_ I think he'd be pretty creeped out. Why should it be any different with me and Sheldon?" Ivy let the question hang in the air. She had gotten to her feet by now. "I'm going." She declared, and slammed the door behind her.

"Oh God, we really upset her." Penny said after a while, shocked. "I feel terrible."

"Yeah, me too. Maybe we should go apologize to her." Leonard suggested.

In the silence that followed this, they heard several doors banging and the sound of footsteps descending the stairs.

It was nearly twelve o'clock when Howard found Ivy in the comic book store sitting cross-legged on the floor in a corner with a stack of Green Lantern and The Flash comic books.

"Go away." She muttered, without looking at him.

Howard sat down in front of her.

"I _said_ go away." Ivy said, louder this time.

"I'm not leaving unless you come back with me." Howard said, collecting the stack of comic books and moving them out of the way.

"What do you want?" Ivy sighed, putting her comic book down and looking up at Howard.

"I want- well, _everyone_ wants- you to come back. We didn't mean to upset you. Sheldon is angry at all of us for hurting your feelings and Penny feels awful." Howard said, leaning forward.

"I'll come back on the condition that you buy me these comic books. They're only one dollar each." Ivy added sweetly.

"All twenty of them?" Howard asked.

Ivy pouted at him.

"Alright... I'll buy them for you if… if I can have a hug." Howard murmured embarrassedly.

Back at the apartment, Sheldon had woken up and was sitting on the couch with Leonard. When he saw Ivy, his face broke into a relieved smile and he hugged her, _properly_. No awkward arms or hunched back, it was a real hug.

When Sheldon broke away, Ivy turned to Penny, but before she could say anything, Penny interrupted.

"Don't apologize to me. I would have reacted the same way. You're right; it's none of our business. I'm sorry, sweetie." Penny smiled apologetically.

"Penny, it's okay.


End file.
